


To Err is Human (To Forgive, Divine)

by CodenamePhantom



Series: Zeref's Second Chance [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angry Hades, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Aphrodite is the Goddess of Matchmaking, Gen, He really wants to smite Ankhseram, He's so complex, I have no fucking clue what I'm writing!, I really want to write a Zeref/OC fic, I want to do him justice, I'm going to TRY to write one, Mention of Zeref/Mavis, Persephone just wants Zeref to feel love again, The Greek Gods don't like Ankhseram, There's not enough Zeref/OC's out there, They think he's a jerkass God, This is a prelude two-shot, This is a prequel to Death and the Maiden, Zeref has a bunch of scheming Greek Gods in his corner, Zeref needs some divine intervention, Zeref's character scares me!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 13:50:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11670360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodenamePhantom/pseuds/CodenamePhantom
Summary: While walking through the dimensions Hades, the Greek God of the Dead, discovers a travesty; an unforgiving God abusing his power and a poor mortal soul cursed with immortality and death. He returns to his realm and his wife, Persephone, where he speaks of a man haunted by death, hounded by loneliness, and utterly bereft of love.The Goddess of Spring, horrified by the tale, decides that something must be done, immediately. And so a plan is hatched involving second chances, a displaced soulmate from a different world, and a matchmaking Goddess of Love.





	1. The Gods Say (Love and Be Loved in Return)

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Fairy Tail, not in this world or the next. Not even in an alternate universe. I know... it's pretty sad.

 

There were no words in any language or dialect to accurately describe the beauty of the Elysian Fields. _No words yet_ , Persephone amended thoughtfully from where she lay among a sprawling meadow of asphodels.

Since the very first moment she had laid eyes on the eternal resting place of the pure and the virtuous, Persephone had sought, tirelessly so, for a word that could describe the utter majesty of the ethereal plane.

Time marched on, Age after Age, and still the Goddess was without success. For there were simply no words in existence that satisfied her. No words to capture the arresting verdant hills that stretched far in every direction or the gleaming rivers with their crystalline waters or the stunning emerald trees that bore fruit that never withered, leaves that never dropped…

There were no words.

Yet.

She sighed quietly, relaxing further into the soft springy grass, the moist soil smelling of Life; a smell that nourished her greatly. Above her the sky loomed large and azure, a cloudless blue more intense and vibrant than had ever been seen by the world above. An immortal sky for it had no proper sun to light it by day, and yet, it was eternally warm and bright.

To think that such a place could exist in the Underworld…

The Underworld… A place where the dead came to be judged and were either sent to Heaven, otherwise known as the Elysian Fields, or damned to Tartarus. Though, now, the mortals called it Hell.

A miserable, grotesque word. Why couldn’t the mortals just stay with Tartarus? Why did they have to invent new words and names for damnation? For endless pain and suffering? 

Did they find wickedness and sin intriguing, perhaps?

The very thought made her shiver, a subtle grimace flickering briefly across her ethereal visage. To console herself, Persephone caressed a hand through a cluster of young asphodels, the gaggle of flowers bursting into exquisite bloom just from the sheer joy of being touched by the Goddess of Spring.

The beautiful blossoms whispered and sighed, their fragile stems leaning toward her in the grass, reaching for her as a babe would its mother.

She smiled.

“Why must you spoil them? If you have patience they will bloom on their own; they do not need aide. Or, is this a bid to make me jealous, lover?”

The Goddess glanced beside her to see a man who had not been there before. He was stretched out on his side, head propped up by an elbow as if he’d been there for hours instead of seconds. He had a long, powerful body draped in sable robes that were forever at odds with her own scintillating viridescent peplos.

Dark hair framed his chiseled face and just barely skimmed a set of strong, broad shoulders. Persephone found herself smiling happily at the sight of her husband.

“You? Jealous of flowers?” she giggled with a playful twist of the head. “Oh my! What will the other Gods and Goddesses say when they hear of such, I wonder?”

“It is my right to be jealous of anything that draws your gaze away from mine,” the Death God declared with a scowl, and unable to resist the fierce set of his lips, Persephone leaned over to place a simple, sweet kiss on his mouth.

She pulled back slowly. “And it is _my_ right to assure you that my gaze shall never stray from yours, not for anything or anyone,” she murmured with utter sincerity, green-gold eyes alight with love and devotion.

“Only the Goddess of Spring could speak such words and mean them when only a second ago her focus had been ensnared by mere flora,” he muttered darkly even as his black eyes gleamed with mirth.

Persephone laughed. “Oh do be careful, dear husband! For you as well were ensnared by _mere flora_ … along with the Goddess that gave said flora Life.”

“Yes, quite an apt term. _Ensnared_. I was _ensnared_ by you, dear wife,” the God of the Underworld intoned deeply, with a suggestive, sly smile that immediately brought a rosy blush to Persephone’s cheeks the moment she saw it.

Her husband leaned back to rest fully in the grass and motioned her closer by opening his arms. Without hesitation the Goddess lunged into his embrace, and snuggled against his chest, sighing softly as he ran his hands through her long, silky blonde hair.

None of the other Gods and Goddesses would ever know how kind the God of the Underworld was; to them it was an impossibility. To them the God of the Dead was an entity of darkness and death. Of cruelty and heartlessness.

They believed he relished in his power, that he enjoyed giving death, that his heart was as dark as the realm he commanded.

Hearing such talk about her husband always made Persephone laugh. For how dark could Hades be when the Elysian Fields existed within the very realm he ruled? Possessing a dark heart? Her lord and husband? Her lover?

Utterly preposterous.

Those many Gods and Goddesses knew absolutely _nothing_ of her lover’s heart, or of the compassion hidden within. They knew nothing at all.

“You’ve been gone awhile. Tell me, Hades, what has kept you away today?” Persephone asked as she nuzzled under his chin. “I missed you,” she whispered against his skin.

“I walked the realms.” His rich voice rumbled into her from where she lay against his chest.

“And what did you see?”

“Mortals. Powerful mortals. Intelligent mortals. Mortals seeking adventure. Mortals fighting mortals. Foolish mortals. Pure mortals. Cursed mortals…”

That was another thing the others always got wrong. Hades didn’t despise mankind, didn’t scorn the mortals for their humanity. He loved them. And there was never a moment in time when he wasn’t in awe over how they utilized the life they were given, how they made the most out of their ephemeral lifespans. It was amazing what one human could accomplish in only a few short decades.

Even the countless dastardly souls he’d damned to the pits of Tartarus couldn’t taint the love he had for mankind. _But a God could easily taint such love, especially when it is a fragile, mortal love_ , he mused privately.

With that dreary thought the God of the Dead lapsed into pensive silence. Sensing the change in mood, Persephone looked up to try and see his expression, but at her angle she could only see the line of his chiseled jaw. A tightly clenched chiseled jaw…

“Something is wrong,” the Goddess of Spring elucidated firmly. “What happened? Did you see something that upset you?”

“I did, indeed.”

Persephone pushed herself up with her hands so she could look down on him. Hades watched her move with those penetrating onyx eyes of his, an entire spectrum of conflicted emotion within their dark depths. She brushed the very tips of her fingers over the severe frown monopolizing his lips.

“Please, tell me, what has made you frown so?”

Hades growled unhappily, the expression on his face stiff and ominous. Yet it was the sound of his displeasure and not his foreboding visage that gave her chills. For despite his kind nature, the God of the Underworld was still an entity that none should ever trifle with.

Catching her reaction, Hades pulled her back into the circle of his arms, murmuring soothing words to calm her back into a peaceful state.

Sometime later when Persephone settled and the silence became too expectant. “I found a soul,” he began, still frowning, the edge of danger in his expression restrained but no less potent. “Death should have claimed him centuries ago, yet still he lives.”

“A mortal soul with immortality? How is that even possible? All mortals must die; it is the way of Life and Death. I… do not understand.”

“Neither did I at first, but then I investigated how such could be possible and what I found… _I did not like_.”

Persephone stared at her husband with wide eyes glittering with confusion… and dread. “What did you find?”

“A God.” Hades’ voice came out low and raw, its tone frozen over with a quiet fury and a biting disgust that almost made Persephone flinch when she heard it.

“I found a God that has abused his power, used his divinity against the very thing he was charged to guard and to guide. A God that has twisted Life and Death out of its cycle. What I found was an… _abomination_ … of Fate.”

The Goddess of Spring gasped, physically recoiling away to stare, horrified, at her husband. “A despicable God!” she cried in response. “I can’t imagine using my… Doing such a selfish… How terrible! And the soul! What did this God _do_ to the soul?” Persephone questioned fiercely.

Hades closed his black fathomless eyes a moment, taking the time to carefully word his answer before opening them to stare his beloved right in the eye. He could not lie to her, though the truth would only bring her soft heart pain.

“It is true. By my will those souls darkened by wickedness are dragged to suffer for their sins in Tartarus. Yet, it is by their own will and their own choices that make it so, I have no hand in how a soul lives the life they are given. I am merely the God that deals the punishment and the reward.”

Hades tilted his head back to stare, narrow-eyed, at the lush canopy waving gently in the wind above him. He continued his explanation gruffly. “However, this God, this… Ankhseram has defiled the order of things. He has interfered with a mortal soul, twisting and tainting his Fate, all for his own purposes, his own depraved agenda.”

Persephone whimpered, a dainty hand raised to cover her mouth in horror. “ _How…?_ We cannot directly interfere if a mortal still lives, it’s just not possible!”

Hades met the shocked gaze of his wife squarely, something like revulsion in his eyes for what he was about to say. “This God is a _defiler_ ; he cares not for the mortals he presides over or the ways of other Gods and Goddesses. To further his disgrace… he has taken a soul so full of love and potential and filled it with death and despair. He has punished a mortal whose only sin was the love he held for a brother…”

“This soul… You’re telling me… this soul was punished for an act of love!? For simply loving another?” the Goddess of Spring exclaimed with blatant disbelief, anguish edging into her pale features.

“That is the half of it,” Hades answered grimly, barely restrained rage in his voice, in his eyes... “The God, Ankhseram, cursed the mortal for daring to raise the dead back to life.”

Persephone shook her head, pink lips pursed and trembling. “So he… he _cursed_ some poor mortal for wanting to bring his brother back? For daring to reclaim a love that had been lost to him? Unspeakable! Love is sacred! Yes, I can understand why this God might be angry; mortals should never encroach upon something as ancient and powerful as Death… but if it’s an act of pure love and not for power or greed then it should be commended, not condemned.”

“Hence, why I am upset, for never have I had a soul in my care that was unjustly sentenced, and to see one treated so by another God leaves me riddled with anger. I came back because I could not stand by and calmly watch his suffering, I did not desire to bask in such a sight,” the God of the Dead rumbled, a laden note of regret in his voice.

The Goddess of Spring sat up, blonde brows furrowed as she thought something over. “Earlier you said this mortal soul seemed immortal… Is it because of the curse? What sort of curse causes immortality?” she asked haltingly, a part of her wanting to know more, while the other part of her just wanted to lay back in the grass, cry for the soul, and learn no more.

“It is called the Curse of Contradiction,” Hades said brusquely, thin lips curled in obvious distaste. “And yes, the curse is to blame for the mortal’s strange deathless state. But this curse is cruel and insidious; even the purest of souls under its influence would turn to evil and love itself into ashes under its thrall. The curse immortalizes the victim to prolong their suffering, suffering brought on by the rampant death they exude whenever they value life more than their own.”

Hades loosed a heavy breath then, an angry sneer slashed across his mouth. By his side Persephone sat, eerily still, her pretty green-gold eyes wider than ever before.

 In the light of the Elysian Fields they glistened and glimmered with unshed tears.

“So… he—the mortal— _kills_ everything around him? He tried to bring his brother back to life and for that he… _he was cursed with death_ … _?_ An eternity of loneliness and isolation… Oh, Hades, it’s so terrible! I can’t imagine living such a wretched, desolate life!”

She sobbed softly, the tears in her eyes falling like diamonds down her flushed cheeks. In response, Hades sat up and hugged his weeping wife to him, that hidden tender heart of his clenching with pain, regret and rage.

“I apologize, sweet wife. I should not have unburdened my— “

“No!” Persephone interrupted vehemently, teary eyes alight with determination as well as sorrow. “No, dear husband. I am glad you did, though it saddens me terribly to know such a tale, I am glad of the knowledge. Now we can do something to help!”

“Help?”

Persephone huffed delicately. “We will do something. We _must_ do something. I cannot – _will not_ – stand for such actions… or curses. That poor soul! I can’t bear the thought of an existence without life and all the precious gifts it can give: family, friendship, love… An existence without love is no existence at all; you of all Gods know this to be true!”

Hades nodded solemnly at that last bit. Because it _was_ true… Before the love of Persephone, the God of the Underworld had been everything the other Gods and Goddesses had thought him to be. He had been a cold and menacing creature, one without love or compassion, then he’d seen the Goddess of Spring and everything changed. _He_ changed.

And yet…

“We can do very little, dear wife,” Hades stated frankly. “Remember, this soul does not reside in our realm, so our reach can only go so far. We cannot interfere directly.”

Persephone tapped her chin in thought. “Maybe so, but sometimes an… _indirect_ course of action can be more effective, rather than an overt one.”

A short meditative pause later saw a brilliant smile blooming on the Goddess’ face. “Oh! I’ve an idea! _Love!_ Oh yes! Love! Hades! We will give him love! A _new_ love! A love that cannot be touched by that dreadful curse! Or that dreadful God! Oh, it’s perfect! We will find his soul mate and give her an apple from the Hesperides Garden!!”

Hades closed his eyes and grimaced, shoulders tensing. A reaction that was not lost on Persephone. “Do you not like my plan, Hades?” she asked, a note of dejection and doubt in her clear, mellifluous voice.

The Death God brushed some hair back from his wife’s beautiful face, the hand around her waist squeezing in reassurance. “It is not that I do not like your plan, my love. It is just that it, unfortunately, will not work. Not for this soul, I’m afraid.”

Persephone peered up at him with dispirited green-gold eyes. “But why?”

Hades pulled the Goddess of Spring further into his embrace, hands brushing over her soothingly and whispered the words he wanted more than anything to swallow and never give voice to, “His soul mate is dead. The curse… killed her.”

It pained him to speak the words, to dampen the light in those gorgeous eyes, and it _killed him_ to see those green-gold eyes spill over with fresh tears. Tears he could feel as they soaked through his robe.

“There must be _something_ we can do!” Persephone cried into his chest, the flowers around her leaning into her, whispering softly in a bid to soothe their mother-goddess but she continued to weep. “There must be, husband!”

Hades exhaled gently, that ancient mind of his working relentlessly towards _something_ , anything to put a smile back on his beloved’s face again. He despised her tears. He despised anything that made her unhappy. By Tartarus if he ever came face to face with Ankhseram…

The God of the Dead seethed silently.

For making his wife cry tears of sorrow, that fool God had unknowingly made an enemy of him. Though he could not interfere in a realm that wasn’t his own, regrettably. If only he cou—

An epiphany struck him into silence without warning.

Hades felt his eyes widen, narrow, and widen again as the idea poured into his mind. It could work…

It wasn’t perfect, but it was the start of _something._

He could not interfere directly in a realm not his own, but he could, perhaps, _send_ someone else indirectly who could.

Hades said as much to the downtrodden Goddess in his arms.

Who, at his words, seemed to perk up with newfound energy, dainty hands scrubbing at her tear-stained cheeks as she thought it over, lips pressed together in a pout that highlighted her feminine allure.

The God of the Dead knew his wife well and knew when that particular air of focused deliberation was present that he should be quiet and let her mull it over. So he stayed silent and held her, offering his comforting presence while he waited for her to arrive at an answer that would satisfy her tender heart.

Abruptly, an indefinite time later, Persephone seemed to jolt back into her body with a squeal and lunged her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. A second later she pulled back and kissed him soundly, intimately, lips spread in a dazzling smile as they pressed against his.

Before he could recuperate the surprising gesture, the Goddess of Spring sprang to her feet and danced around him, laughing and grinning like an excitable wood nymph in spring. Hades could only stare, heat in his gaze, from where he lay sprawled in the grass, a sigh of relief on his lips as he watched the vision of absolute beauty frolic in triumph before him.

He smiled.

“Did you find something to help, lover,” he questioned in a rich, deep voice, black eyes half-lidded as he tracked the Goddesses every agile movement.

Persephone whirled around to face him, the light of her smile blinding. “Yes!” she laughed joyously. “But you have to trust me!”

“Of course,” he answered without hesitation, and the proud sincerity in his voice made Persephone beam, green-gold eyes shining with love and fierce resolve.

She sashayed closer and held out one delicately boned hand, smiling all the while and said, “Come then, dear husband, we have an audience with the Goddess of Love and we shan’t be late!”

Hades blinked, momentarily caught off guard. “What?” he asked, as a hand raised to instinctively twine with Persephone’s, and then he was on his feet and moving behind a fleet-footed Goddess.

“That despicable God took away his soul mate, so I thought, why don’t we give him another one! Oh, isn’t it perfect, Hades! We can give that poor soul another chance at love! Come, we must go see Aphrodite!” the Goddess of Spring called from over her shoulder, green-gold eyes glittering with excitement and hope.


	2. Love Will Find A Way (Around Jerkass Gods and Death Curses)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aphrodite onto the scene!! And a shy Hades! *Cackles*

“I do not see the wisdom in coming here,” Hades hissed warily, the marble opulence of the vast temple bouncing his words back to him in an echo, despite the low volume of his voice.

“Are you uncomfortable, my lord husband?” Persephone questioned with a playful smile, her eyes dancing merrily. Unlike Hades, the Goddess didn’t bother to lower her voice.

“Not at all. I’m simply just…”

“Shy?”

“That is _not_ what I was going to say,” he muttered acerbically, head turned away, and even without all the sconces lit, Persephone could tell Hades was hiding a blush.

She giggled. Her husband was _so_ easy to tease!

“Do you want to find another soul mate for the… What was it, again? Ah, yes! The wizard! Our mortal is a wizard! Isn’t that interesting! But don’t you want to find a soul mate for our wizard, Hades?” she asked him innocently, hands clasped behind her girlishly. “Don’t you want him to feel love and be loved in return?”

“Yes.”

“Then who better to help us find a match than the Goddess of Love?”

Hades sighed and resigned himself to the will of his Goddess.

They walked deeper into the temple until they reached the center chamber. A massive room with marble pillars, a high vaulted ceiling, and right in the middle… a statue. Looming easily three stories tall, the statue of Aphrodite was breath-taking, the exquisite curves of her body looking to be soft and pliable even in stone.

Persephone admitted that it was flawless—the Goddess of Love was flawless. She glanced over to her husband. Hades was turned slightly away and… frowning.

Persephone rolled her eyes and moved to stand right in front of him, hands on hips. “Do you really wish to leave? Because it looks to me like you do not want to do this?”

Hades had the decency to look duly chastised by that. “I already told you, Persephone. I trust you… I just don’t trust Aphrodite.”

The Goddess of Spring let out a very un-maiden-like snort. “You just don’t trust her when she’s with me; she is my best friend after all.” She giggled into her palm mischievously.

With that said Persephone pranced over to the statue and knelt on the small dais at its base. With nimble fingers she lit the thin, red candle standing tall in a pure white ceramic bowl, then cupped the little flame that flared to life between her hands like a lover.

“Goddess of Love,” she crooned into the flame. “I humbly ask you to appear for we are in grave need of your wisdom; there is a mortal who desperately needs a soul mate and we have not the skill to find it. With all due haste I bid you come. Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, and Hades, the God of the Dead, await your presence.”

The invocation over, Persephone leaned forward over her cupped hands in a bow and gently, intimately blew the flickering orange flame out.

Rising to her feet the Goddess returned to stand with Hades a few feet away. There they waited.

In the lingering silence. “Did the sculptors have to etch so much detail into a statue? Would it have ruined her image and reputation if just one statue was created with a chiton, at least?”

“Dear sweet Kore, tell me again, how you deal with your prig of a husband?” came a sultry voice from behind them, and if Hades didn’t possess the control he did, he would’ve flinched in surprise.

He didn’t, though his muscles did stiffen ever so slightly before he turned on his heel to swiftly face the new arrival.

A Goddess the exact likeness of the statue glided from the shadows of a nearby pillar, a sheer white and gold gown that elegantly draped off the shoulders wrapped around her. Her hair was long, straight, and brushed her pert buttocks whenever she moved, the color a red so deep and rich that it resembled the darkest of wines.

“Do not call me a prig,” Hades growled irritably, armored forearms crossed tightly over his broad chest.

“Well then, you won’t mind if I call you a prude? It’s a better fit…” A pair of seductive sky blue eyes twinkled in a face that men, both mortal and immortal alike, found immeasurably attractive.

“You weren’t busy, Aphrodite? You came faster than you usually do.”

“Oh? You’re wondering about that, are you? Well, what did you expect me to do, ignore you and your scrumptious message? By Tartarus, no! It’s not every century the God of the Dead calls upon the Goddess of Love for aide. It’s actually quite invigorating… and I couldn’t help myself, I’m so curious I could _die!_ ” Aphrodite smirked slyly at Hades who hissed and turned away.

She snickered behind a hand. “So, dear Kore, what mortal has ensnared both of your hearts? So much so that you _ache_ to unite him with his lady love?”

“His name is… Um…” Persephone answered but trailed off uncertainly when she realized she didn’t actually know the name of the mortal.

“It’s Zeref. Zeref Dragneel,” Hades finished brusquely.

“The Black Wizard?” A flicker of surprise and something undefinable flickered across Aphrodite’s face.

“You’ve heard of him?”

The Goddess of Love’s expression turned unexpectedly dark. “Of course, I have! That man’s familial love was a beautiful thing to behold – so warm, so pure and so very intense. It's no wonder I left the realm to seek him out; a mortal that loves as fiercely as he is hard to find _here._ Don’t even ask me to describe the romantic love.” Her head rolled back and she groaned sexily as if in remembrance.

“I can’t believe he’s still a virgin…” She muttered to herself, though Persephone heard the whispered words and felt her eyes widen with curiosity, but she shoved the questions away in favor of what needed to be done. She would ask for details later… when Hades wasn’t around.

“Then you must understand why we’re here,” the Goddess of Spring said. “Anhkseram’s horrendous curse killed Zeref’s soul mate, so there is no one to share his burden, to lighten the darkness within him. It’s almost as if Ankhseram _wants_ him to become evil…”

Aphrodite’s sky blue eyes hardened, the blue freezing over with uncommon anger. “Oh, I know all about how that horrid curse killed off Mavis Vermillion… I’m the one who picked the match after all! Their first meeting, unfortunately didn’t end in sex, but the attraction started there, so I guess it wasn’t a complete loss…” She sighed heavily, blue eyes distant and pained.

“I was so sure that match would work, they were so perfect for each other! But that stupid, stupid curse and that jerkass God…” Aphrodite’s red lips curled in a disdainful sneer. “He had to go and ruin my beautiful masterpiece of a couple! Their love was so innocent and new and strong and fragile! Now it’s gone… and I don’t know if he can love again. Or will let himself love again. If he’s too far gone into that curse, I don’t know what will happen.”

Persephone met the downtrodden gaze of the Goddess of Love, her own green-gold eyes beseeching. “But there’s still a chance, right? There’s always a second chance for love; you’ve said that to me enough times for it to be true. Please, help him.”

Aphrodite tilted her head, a look of serious contemplation about her. “Hmm… Yes, you’re right. There is _always_ a second chance. After everything that jerkass God saddled him with I think Zeref definitely deserves some loving. Preferably, in a bed. Dear Kore, have you _seen_ his buttocks? So firm… means he has a good, strong thrust. I wonder—”

“I believe we’re here to find Zeref Dragneel a soul mate, not gossip about his sexual prowess,” Hades chided caustically, teeth grit in frustration.

He really didn’t like it when Persephone and Aphrodite were together… They were _terrible_ together…

Enough to drive a God mad.

From where she stood, Persephone ducked her head down, a flush of shame on her cheeks. With a stern mental shake, she returned to their purpose for being there.

“I’m sorry, dear husband.”

Smiling innocently, she turned to her best friend. Her green-gold eyes twinkled in the shadow of her bangs. “So… what say you, Goddess of Love, will you help us find someone for him? Someone to love him despite his curse and all the evil it has made him do?”

“Someone to love him as much I love my Persephone,” Hades put his two cents in, his expression softening as he met the gaze of his wife and soul mate.

Seeing the eye-contact and sensing the love held between them, Aphrodite tittered gaily. “Oh, I did so good with you two, like inseparable twins, you are! It’s so adorable!” she crooned at them with a happy, knowing grin.

 “Yes, we are,” Persephone laughed, snuggling into the side of her husband lovingly. “I only hope whatever match you pick will be as blessed as Hades and I.”

Aphrodite grinned. “We’ll see, won’t we. One soulmate for Zeref Dragneel coming right up!” she sang.

Gesturing with her hands and murmuring an ancient incantation, the Goddess of Love walked in a slow circle, hips swaying hypnotically. When she stopped and stepped aside a circle of radiance blazed to life on the marble floor, bathing their faces in an ethereal white light. With one last hand gesture and a whispered word, the inside of the circle liquefied into a silvery, mirror-like substance that eddied and flowed indistinctly.

Mere seconds later an image became distinguishable. Aphrodite peered into the circle and gasped.

“What? What do you see?” Persephone skittered closer to the Mirror of Sight so she could see too, Hades right on her heels. When they saw the image shown, the Goddess of Spring hummed sadly while Hades just stared, black gaze filled with understanding.

They were looking in on a funeral. There were two coffins. Two tombstones with the names Kane and Willow Delsin. Beloved Father and Mother.

“Why is it showing us a funeral?” Hades questioned stiffly.

The Goddess of Love sniffed haughtily. “The Mirror of Sight is a strange relic; at times it has a will of its own. The funeral must be significant somehow.”

Sighing, she waved her hand over the circle, the gold bangles on her wrist jingling delicately. “Now, Mirror of Sight, show us the soul mate of Zeref Dragneel from this realm and no other,” she commanded.

The surface of the circle rippled like disturbed pond water. When it settled again a modern style house surrounded by white oak and slippery elm trees appeared. A striking young woman sauntered out of the house, sturdy boots on her feet and a backpack full of hiking gear over one slim shoulder.

She was stunning… in a mortal kind of way. Long, ice-blonde hair, vibrant blue eyes, and a proud, oval-shaped face. Her walk was confident and precise, hinting at a strong-spirited soul.

And yet…

There was something about her. Something buried deep behind the wall of her intense blue stare.

“She looks sad,” Persephone observed.

“Maybe she is like Zeref. Lonely and reluctant to love, yet yearning for it all the same,” Aphrodite commented, a knowing wisdom in her sky blue eyes.

“She is grieving for her dead parents.”

Both Persephone and Aphrodite turned to stare quizzically at Hades. “How do you know that?”

“Is this a Death God thing?” Aphrodite added, a slender brow quirked in question.

Hades huffed in annoyance and pointed at the image in the Mirror. “Look closely at her satchel. See there on one of the straps, her name. Winter Delsin. The funeral scene must’ve been for her parents since they all share the same surname. Thus, she must be in mourning.”

A moment of silence.

Then a sharp, resonating clap echoed around the vast chamber and Aphrodite lowered her hands with a beaming smile. “That makes them kindred spirits! Zeref is sad because he lost his brother and Winter is sad because she lost her parents! They can heal each other! Oh, I adore these kinds of loves, so slow and intimate, so revitalizing! Yes, I can see them together!” the Goddess of Love exclaimed confidently, a wide grin lighting up her face.

“He’ll need a woman who will understand his pain, like Mavis, but unlike Mavis, she won’t share in his curse and since she’s not from his realm that jerkass God, Ankhseram, won’t be able to touch her! It’s perfect! Oh, why didn’t I think about sending a soulmate for him from our realm the first time? It would have saved me the trouble of having to weasel those two stubborn souls together! I’ll tell you, Zeref and Mavis were quite the pair, but by Tartarus did I have a hard time getting them to meet! Oh, if only I were a God in his realm, it would've been so easy then... ”

Aphrodite nodded to herself, humming thoughtfully.

“But she’s from our realm, as you said, and mortals can’t walk the dimensions like we can. How will you get her to Zeref?” Persephone asked with wary curiosity. It hadn’t crossed her mind that they would need to ferry the mortal across realms. Now she was lost.

To her right Aphrodite winked at her, looking completely at ease in light of this new complication.

“Leave it to me,” she said with a mysterious smile. “I have a favor to call in from an old friend whose power is perfect for what we need. Don’t you two worry, just sit back and watch.”

With that said, she vanished the Mirror with one more whispered word and gave the two immortals an eager, anticipatory smile before disappearing as well.

“Shall we go home?” Hades asked when all the echoes of their raised voices ebbed into silence.

Persephone smiled at him coyly and nodded. Then, they too disappeared.

Now, all they had to do was wait.

And watch.


End file.
